Gravity Lens – “Spotlight”
Spotlights Gravity Spotlights are used to conduct matter from one place to another at a small fraction of the speed of light, with no effects of inertia experienced by the passenger. The Spotlight creates a tight loop of warped space along a conducting conduit that glows a dim blue, then projects the passenger as a frozen point to the destination with a burst of photons as the by-product of acceleration & deceleration. They are ubiquitous aboard starships and stations. They use the Drive-Rails to produce this warpage and simply lens it. The "Gravity Lens" element is actually a ring of curving Drive-Rails, the aperture of which determines the distance of the loop. This lens is suspended over a Matter-Stream Portal that processes the pulse of incoming matter and returns whatever has been sent or retrieved to relativistic motion inside the ship. Matter can stripped off of Asteroids by a DEW vaporizing material that the Spotlight then continually sends back to the ship's Cargo Bay, or it can delicately drop off Marines and Cargo on a hard surface. Spotlights must have a direct line of sight to a target surface to drop off a package. The pulse itself is solid matter surrounded by warped space, so any significant impact will atomize the traveler. To prevent this the tight beam shoves aside gas, dust, and debris, accelerating and decelerating at either end of the loop. When operating in an atmosphere it is common to see arcing flashes of electrons using the beam to reach areas of negative charge, then at the point of contact a mild burst of wind clears away soil from beneath the package's feet. FLAK and MAC rounds will still impede travel, so Spotlights only tend to be used by cavalier commanders in combat. Spotlights are extremely fragile and require a physical barrier when not in use to cover them. They can be quickly repaired by their own internal mechanisms if damaged within thirty seconds, unless the module they’re attached to is destroyed completely. Stats Sm. Missile Spotlight: Often added to the spine of a ship, sm Missile types are launched from these conductors to the space just outside the hull, where they can then ignite themselves. These can also be used to spotlight a single Marine to a target surface per second. Md. Missile Spotlight: Can launch 2 sm missiles at once or just 1 md. missile. Can also launch 2 Marines to a target location per second. Can also launch & retrieve a Sm. Drone and/or it’s cargo. Md. Spotlight: Used to launch md. Drones and Lg. Missiles. Can also launch 4 sm missiles at once, or 2 md missiles. They can conduct six Marines to a target surface per second. Lg. Spotlight: Used to launch Lg. Drones and while barrages of missiles, up to 8 sm missiles at once, 4 md. missiles, or 2 Lg missiles. Can also launch & retrieve Lg. Drones and/or their cargo. They can send 12 Marines to a target surface at once per second. Ex.LG Spotlight: Used to launch Modules and XL Drones only. These enormous spotlights can capture and store entire starship modules. They can also capture and store a single 60-80m Corvette in an XL Cargo Hold. Usually these modules are intended to supply a Sm. Or Md. BASIC or TURRET Module to be installed on another damaged ship by a set of Drones. Upgrades Reinforced Door (a heavier cover is added to the surface.) Silo Door (a very large and differently animated cover is added to the hull, which opens slower as a result.) Projector Upgrades (x2, x4, x6, x8, x10 – increased range of the beam at the increased risk of being intercepted.)